A twisted reality
by Delpheus
Summary: Let's start this story with a question. What happens when you add three men with a prototype tank into the story of Girls und Panzer... This.
1. Chapter 1

_**Well hello there. I'm a new writer to this genre so I do hope you'll forgive the mistakes I'm bound to make. Let's get this started. Any feedback I get would be thoroughly appreciated everyone.**_

* * *

He stared at the rising sun through the small window in front of him. He then groaned while working a kink out of his neck. Despite the space that the Hercules he was flying in had they still lacked one essential thing.

Comfortable seating.

He stood up and worked on stretching his body out more. He grabbed the jacket he'd been wearing at threw it onto the floor next to him. The simple blue jacket matched his sapphire eyes to a startling extent. He cracked his knuckles and went for a light round of shadow boxing. The voices is his head laughed at him but he ignored them. They'd always been this way. Never helpful always looking down on him.

He still wondered why he'd decided to accept this course… sure the pay was good but he still had no idea why this specific activity was his go to choice. He chuckled quietly as he panted and tried to comb his messy brown hair back into its previously neat arrangement. He failed with spectacular results, somehow managing to make his hair look worse then before. After putting on his jacket and ruffling through the pockets in search of a comb he sighed and sat back down in the cargo hold. It was then that he noticed a rather glaring detail… he was the only person in the back.

Sure he'd been half asleep when he boarded and he'd fallen asleep almost immediately upon lying down but he was pretty sure that there had been at least one other person. Maybe he became a stowaway… that sounded cool. Kinda… not really. He then started panicking. His mind created a hundred different scenarios on what would happen when he landed and he ended up hitting his head against the wall in order to stop. He slid down the wall and closed his eyes as he concentrated on the pain.

The thumping of his heart resounded through his ears as he found himself back in that place. Everything stood exactly as it had at the time. The people around him on the ground. The woman in front of him. The gun in her hand.

His vision flattered and he was back in the plane. He hugged his jacket closer to him as he let out a breath. The cold recycled air invaded his senses and sent a chill through his body. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming and the chiming of the intercom brought his mind back to reality.

"Buckle up kid. We're landing in five."

He rolled his eyes and looked at the seat with a glare as he strapped himself in.

* * *

The sun hurt his eyes. That was the first thought that entered his mind as he looked up at the sky. The clear blue radiance of the sky filled him with energy and he rocked on the balls of his feet before walking forwards. He glanced at the note in his hand that he'd received when the plane had landed.

 _Meet me in the largest hanger_

 _S_

He shook his head as he looked around the airfield… every hanger looked the exact same size. He felt his eyebrow twitch in irritation. He really needed to have a word with her. He gave up on trying to figure out which hanger was larger and resigned himself to slowly checking each hanger. The first few he'd walked past housed a few aircraft and he swore he saw a Spitfire in one of the hangers. He'd stared for a minute before walking past and continuing with his search for the meeting point. The next set had a few trucks with equipment for various vehicles stored neatly around the walls. He shook his head as he felt fate itself start laughing at him. He persevered and eventually came to the second last hanger.

He opened the door and expected to find a plane or something to that extent. Instead he found an odd vehicle.

The front consisted of three angular armor plates placed at different angles to the vertical. The top sheet near the roof, distinguished by a smaller slope.

Middle and bottom, in turn, formed the structure of the wedge-shaped profile with vertical sides. The turret was shaped oddly too with a raised section on it's right where a large gun was mounted. The left side of the turret seemed to bend to give the turret an almost done appearance. Overall the vehicle was smaller then the tanks he'd normally seen. Maybe a few meters in length. The gun itself had a rectangular muzzle break attached and a cupola sat on top of the turret with a view port and hatch situated on the turret at well.

"Ah you found it. The T71 light tank…"

He whirled around to find a woman in military dress smiling at him. Her black hair matched her berret and the glasses she wore gave her the air of a teacher. He rolled his eyes as he laughed.

"It's been a while. How have you been Sarah?"

She hit him on top of his head with a small clipboard.

"You're being too formal. It's only us so you can be a little more casual."

"Um… okay. Hi… I guess."

"Eh we'll work on it. How was the flight?"

"Was I supposed to be the only one on that plane? Cause I think I wasn't supposed to be."

"The others were delayed so they won't be here for another hour or so." He saw her eyes look back at the tank. "You know this is the only version of this ever made right? A 76mm main gun that mounts a three shot autoloader capable of firing 12 shots in a minute. She's a beauty."

He let out a hum as he walked over to the tank and ran his hand across the metal surface. A layer of dust had settled on the hull along with what looked some cobwebs that hung from the tracks.

"If it's the only one of it's type you'd hope the engineers would take better care of it."

"Well they were a little busy keeping this place up to snuff."

"I'm sure they were. Question. Why me? I mean I'm sure there were a hell of a lota better candidates to drive this then me."

"True there were. But let's say I have a bet going on who's the better commander for this thing. I'm hoping you win Lex."

Lex blinked. His eyes seemed to shine in the dark hanger as he looked at the tank.

"I'm not driving? I applied for that though…"

"I saw. But I thought you'd be more suited to commanding. Besides this is a three man tank. You'll get to drive at some point…" she threw her clipboard to him and he fumbled as he caught it. "Your two other crewmates. Learn the faces and memorize the names by the time they get here."

Lex rolled his eyes as he spun around to face the woman. He gave a lazy salute and leaned on the tank as he scanned the dossiers. He froze when he got to the evaluation results. He looked up and saw the Sarah was gone.

 _She…. She gave me the worst candidates… this guy's the driver and his score was worse then mine… and my gunners not even accurate at three hundred meters… what the fuck!_

He propped himself so that he was sitting on the side of the tank as he silently fumed.

* * *

An hour went by and he blinked his blurry vision away when the sound of voices filled his ears.

"What should we do?" the first voice went.

"Beats me. The guys asleep." Went the second more gruff voice.

He rose up and blinked in surprise at what he saw. The dossiers weren't kidding when they said that the two people in front of him were his crew.

He leapt off the side and walked up to the two teens in front of him. One wore what looked like a camo top with a pair of green pants. Orange hair that passed his shoulders made his head seem like it was on fire. A pair of matching orange eyes met his sapphire and the guy went rigid. Lex cleared his throat.

"Lets see… you're Stewart Regarious the Third right?"

"Yeah. People call me Nano."

Lez narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Is that because of your…"

"My height yeah." The guy laughed. " well it comes in handy sometimes so I don't really mind."

Lex rolled his eyes as he looked at the other teen. A head of spiked silver hair was the first thing that caught his attention. Next was the almost glowing Amber eyes and finally was the simple grey jumper and pants. The teen gave a half hearted smile filled with a little malice that made Lex tense slightly.

"Your Richy Sutherland I take it?"

"Richard. You don't get to call me Richy." The gruff voice answered.

Lex shrugged. "Fine by me. So let's see… Richard. You're the driver while Nano gets to be the gunner. Sound good?"

He spun around only to be stopped when a hand set itself down on his shoulder. His body was forcefully spun around and he felt a fist slam into his face. He went spirally onto the ground. His vision blurred and he fought against that as he stood back up albeit slowly and shakily.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

He found himself glaring at Richard who pointed over at Nano. The orange haired teen shrugged.

"Wanted to see if you were man enough to take my punch. Guess what? You failed."

Lex groaned.

"Last time I checked… getting punched by my subordinates was not on the job description."

"Dude. You're like the same age as us. Don't talk like this is some stupid job interview. We get to drive tanks. We get to shoot guns… it's fucking awesome!"

Nano put his fist next to Richard who slumped his shoulders as he met the fist with his own

"I thought I told you to stop that on the plane."

"What it's fun?"

"For you maybe. Think about how I feel now that I have to do this with you."

"Exhilarated?"

"Try again."

"Enthusiastic?"

Richard eventually shook his head as he gave up. Lex smiled from the corner while he grabbed the medical kit inside the tank. He'd taken the time to look over a few parts of the run down tank and after about five minutes he'd given up when he realized he had absolutely no idea what to do. He double checked that his vision was fine and when he was sure that his nose wasn't bleeding he walked up to Nano and slugged him in the face with a smile on his face. His smile vanished when he saw the ease with which his punch had been caught.

"Nice try… though you might want to mask your presence a bit more. Your eyes gave away your target."

Lex blinked in surprise then nodded slightly.

"I'll take that into consideration…" he then changed the topic " I don't think I've introduced myself have I? "

"Nope."

"Lexerius Vitra. Just call me Lex."

A handshake and fist bump went by before the three teens stared at their tank. Richard seemed to nod slightly as he opened the drivers hatch. He then turned to Lex.

"You tested the engine?"

"Didn't get a chance to no. All yours."

The grin that spread across both their faces when the engine roared to life could've filled the hanger. A laugh filled the hanger followed by another two as the group got into their respective positions inside the tank.

Lex tapped Richard with his foot and the tank slowly moved forwards and out into the sun. He used his hand to shield his eyes from the glare and felt the wind against his face. He felt someone tapped on his pants legs so he closed the hatch and sat down in the chair. Nano seemed to be the one tapping.

"We don't have any ammo."

"I know. It'd be a little stupid to have an inactive tank stocked with ammunition. "

"Yeah but I can't shoot."

"Exactly. I don't need a trigger happy idiot on my team."

"I'm not trigger happy… just… excited to fire a gun of this caliber."

"You think you can hit anything with this? Your evaluation gave you a three out of the for accuracy."

"You know they tested us with twenty millimeter cannons right? Those things have vastly different muzzle velocities then these larger cannons. Once I'd gotten use to the drop on the round I was up to my last shot."

"And?"

"I hit the bull's-eye… though I was a centimeter to the left. "

His eyes widened once again in the day.

"We need to get you a target. I need to see this first hand."

"Its all in your hands chief."

"Chief?"

Alex had expected Nano to answer though instead he heard Richard.

"You're the commander of this tank. So in theory we can call you chief. It's more convenient then Lex in a battle. Plus an enemy won't know who we're referring to if our comms are hacked. "

Lex nodded at the logic before opening he hatch and directing Richard around a few obstacles. He was impressed with the speed that the tank could turn along with the tight circles it could pull he had to say. He was starting to second guess the reports he'd been given. There was no way that someone with a two out of ten rating for tank driving could pull off the sharp corners that Richard was managing with effort to spare. He made a mental note to ask Sarah about this as the tank slowly returned to the hanger.

The three of them hopped out of the tank and sat on the hull. Nano hung upside down from the barrel of the gun while Lex took his spot on top of the turret. Richard seemed happy enough lying down on the hull and a sigh of content went through all of them. Lex then started chuckling.

"All in favor of telling the evaluators to go fuck themselves say I"

"It would be a good change of pace."

"They probably should."

He felt his shoulders droop.

"None of you said I!"

The three then started laughing when Alex heard the hanger door open. He glanced to the side and sent a lazy wave towards the approaching woman. She seemed to be glaring at him though Lex hadn't the faintest idea why. He leapt off the turret and met her halfway. He then received a rather painful whack on the head from her metal clipboard.

"Next time you decide to take a joyride around the base in a tank tell me first. You know how many people rushed into my office screaming about a runaway _tank_!?"

Lex let out an awkward chuckle.

"Six people if I counted right."

He heard her sigh as she shook her head. She then walked up to the tank and patted her hand against the hull. The three teens noted the far away look in her eyes.

"Be careful with this one okay. She's delicate."

She then shook her head and passed Lex the clipboard.

"You have two weeks. Learn the tank back to front and make sure it's in top shape by the first week."

Lex furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as the woman walked off and he glanced back at the other two who were trying to read over his shoulder. He rolled his eyes and placed the clipboard on the flat part of the hull. He then started reading along with the other two. He whistled when the saw the money figure.

"Four zeros huh. Nice."

"Cute girls too."

He gave Nano the blankest stare he could muster while Richard kept reading.

"So we've been hired to help some school restart their tank training program huh? Anyone else see the flaw."

"Why us?"

Richard nodded as he looked at the door.

"I didn't know we were this cheap."

Lex nodded as he tapped his foot in thought.

"We have two weeks and according to Sarah we have a week to get this thing in full condition… let see… new paint. Maybe a better gun… thoughts?"

"Oooh. How about digital camo?"

Alex and Richard both looked over at Nano who was grinning madly.

"Can you even make digital camo with paint?"

"Give me a week and let's see."

Richard shook his head while Lex rolled his eyes.

"Knock yourself out. I'm gonna go talk with the requisitions manager about the gun tomorrow hopefully. Anyone got something they want?"

He saw Richard tap the hull of the tank.

"New tracks would be nice. Maybe a range finder for Nano. You want one Nano?"

"I'll take it!"

They two of them shared a laugh while Lex jotted down notes on the clipboard with a pen. When they'd finished planning it had turned dark. Nano asked the final question of the day.

"So does one of you know the way to the dorms?"


	2. Chapter 2

The air smelt of smoke. A fire raged in the distance as he cowered where he was. His feet wouldn't move and his hands were frozen. A woman stood in front of him. Her pistol glinted in the firelight as she held pointed it towards him. He could see every detail.

The black muzzle.

The white grip.

The dice engraved on the barrel.

Time moved slowly. Each click from the gun as she pulled the trigger took an eternity to fade. The hammer fired and the bang tore through his ears.

He jolted up, breathing hard. He slowly fell back on the bed as he wiped his brow to try and get the sweat off.

 _Ugh… fucking flashes are back… great._

Lex hit his head against the wall and let the pain run across his head. He closed his eyes and let out a breath before getting dressed. He grabbed his jacket from the chair in his room as he walked out. He jogged around the hanger complex until he finally came to the crews hanger. He walked up to the tank and sat down on the side as he took a bite out of the sandwich in his hand. An engineer walked in and passed him a clipboard before walking off to God knows where.

 _Hmm… so reqs got us a 76mm M1A2, a laser rangefinder and some new tracks already… he works fast._

He heard footsteps and looked up to see Richard stretching his arms as he walked up. Lex threw the clipboard to him as he stared out the doors. He shook his head and opened the hatch to the turret.

"Let's get the tank out of the hanger… where's Nano?"

"Asleep. He'll be here around twelve."

Lex stared.

"He knows we have to practice right?"

Richard hopped onto the tank and opened the drivers hatch.

"No idea. You can go wake him if you want."

The hatch closed and Lex felt the vehicle shudder as the engine started. He got into the his own position as the tank rolled forwards. Lex set himself up in the gunners position and turned the turret as he got a feel for the tanks rotation speed. It didn't really help that Richard was somehow managing to pull pivot turns in a _tank_. Eventually he gave up trying to match the turning hull with the turret and sat in the turret as he closed his eyes and let the sounds of the tank echo in his ears.

The tank abruptly stopped and he almost went flying forwards.

"What happened?"

"Open the hatch and see."

Lex did so and he stared in awe at what he saw. A massive rectangular tank rolled out from one of the hangers in front of them. A large gun was mounted in front of it and he whistled when he saw it. The drivers hatch opened and Richards head popped out.

"A T28 siege tank… never thought I'd see one."

Lex nodded .

"The armor's incredible on it's front. No way we'd pen the front with our gun."

"We're faster though so we could swing around it's side, put a round through it's tracks and pepper it's side with our autoloader. I'm sure we'd eventually break it."

"Could just hit the engine if we wanted to save ammo. It'd probably be more effective."

"True."

Their tank rolled forwards once the hulking behemoth had passed and eventually they arrived back outside the hanger. The two of them got out of the tank and Lex went back to sitting on the turret as he scanned through his new clipboard. He threw it to Richard who started talking.

"So they've got a Panzer four D, a Stugg three, M3 Lee, a 38t, and a type 89b… we'd be dead against any of them in a straight up brawl."

"Hooray for 22mm of armor. I'm pretty sure we're faster in terms of speed and turret traverse though. If we aim for the 38t followed by the 89b we'd be making headway."

"How about the Lee and Stugg afterwards?"

"Leave the team leader for last huh… good idea. There a name for the leader?"

"Let's see… A Miho Nishizumi. Ring a bell?"

Lex tapped his fingers against the turret.

"The last name does… part of a famous school for tank training. That's all I know."

"Its all about pushing forwards!"

They both jumped when Nanos voice appeared from behind them. Lex stared at Nano as the teen climbed onto the tank and sat on the muzzle break.

"Where the hell were you?!"

"Asleep… what?"

Lex let out a sigh as he rolled his eyes and changed the topic to something slightly less vexing.

"So you know about them?"

The teen shrugged.

"There tanks focus on heavy armor so they like _Tigers_ and _Panthers._ It's your basic steamroll strategy."

"Sounds fun."

"You could say that. Being heavy tanks though their turret traverse is terrible. So we have that advantage."

" Lets hope we don't have to use that advantage."

They both looked over at Richard who was shaking his head.

"The tanks that this school has aren't suited to deal with Tigers. Let alone something as fast as a Panther or Leopard."

Nano grinned.

"That's why we're going to help. We scout while they shoot from range. Perfect combo."

"Not everyone has your accuracy Nano."

"But they all have one thing in common. They'll be perfect distractions while we weave between the tanks with our speed. Your driving's up to that right Richy?"

Richard glared at Nano who kept his carefree smile as the silver haired teen shook his head. His own grin covering his face.

"Let's just say that I've got this tanks cornering down to a dime in four days. Which I do by the way. No one's got the ability to handle my maneuvers and with your shooting we'll hit the mark each time. Now all that's left is for our precious commander to show his stripes."

Lex rolled his eyes as he took a bite from a muffin he'd pulled out of the cooler. He grabbed another pair and threw them to the others as stretched himself down on the turret. His eyes stared at the clouds as they formed various shapes in the sky. His vision flickered and he forced himself to calm down and focus on one of the clouds in particular. He saw a star. The cloud moved in front of the sun and it's center seemed to glow. He reached out towards the center with one of his hands.

 _I'll reach you soon. Just wait for it._

He slowly pushed himself up and saw the others looking at him.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's give this gun a test fire."

Nanos eyes lit up as he scrambled for the hatch and Lex saw Richard assume his position on the drivers seat as nonchalantly as ever. He hopped into the commanders hatch and with a tap of his foot the entire tank sped off towards the firing range.

* * *

The cannon fired for the third time in six seconds and Lex's eyes confirmed the hit through the binoculars. The reload started and he patted a practically giddy Nano on the shoulder in confirmation.

 _Three shots… three fucking bulls eye's._

His awe had visibly vanished after the second shot. Mentally he was stumbling over his own two feet trying to comprehend what was happening. How the hell had his luck changed? He'd been given a gift and he intended to make good use of them. He nodded to himself and heard the characteristic click as the reload finished. He opened the hatch and watched as the gun rapidly aligned itself into a firing position. The shockwave of air when the gun fired flew past him and the steaming barrel left a rapidly dissipating cloud of smoke. Two seconds passed and the by the time their second shell had left the barrels length the turret was spinning to face the third target. A _Sherman Jumbo_ stood in front of them. It's slanted armor glinted in the light before a cloud of dust appeared in it's wake as it charged them. Richard followed suit and drove straight towards the tank. Nano seemed to pick up a plan that Lex couldn't figure out as he turned the turret to the side. The two tanks approached each other. The _T71_ gliding forwards before the Jumbo stopped and got ready to fire. It happened then. A large bang tore the air in half and Lex watched as the shell flew just past their tank. Richard swerved to the right before the left track went in reverse. The momentum carried on and the entire tank drifted on the soft sand. Time slowed and Lex watched in awe as turret aligned and fired at the rotating _Sherman._ The shell accelerated out of the barrel and flew straight through the slightly angled armor plate. A second passed and the white flag rose as it's turret pointed at them. The three of them stared for a moment before a round of celebration ran through the inside.

"Fucking finally!"

"I… I hit the shot."

Lex punched Nano in the shoulder lightly and saw the guy turn to face him.

"Shot was a tad bit to the right. Let's perfect it tomorrow. Today. Dinners on me."

"You're the best commander a gunner could hope for you know that?"

Lex shook his head as he turned to Richard who was silently watching from his seat. The teen rose an eyebrow.

"To think we managed this with four days training."

Lex chuckled slightly.

"Thank the tank. She's a beast no matter how you drive her. Nice drift by the way. Very flashy."

The jumper clad teen shrugged as he turned back to the controls.

"That was the point."

A few seconds passed and Lex felt the lack of movement. He turned to Richard who motioned towards the hatch. Lex climbed out of the turret and stared at the tracks once he stepped onto the sandy ground.

"Richard. We got a problem. Our tracks are busted."

The drivers hatch opened and Richards head appeared.

"Must've been the drift. Remind me to not do that again… Elly's going to kill me."

Nano appeared next.

"Oh… who's Elly?"

"… the mechanic who keeps our tank running… have you guys not run into her?"

Lex rose an eyebrow while Nano whistled.

"Who knew that Richard was such a ladies man."

"All I did was talk to her!"

"Exactly. I mean look at Lex over there. All he does is sleep or stare."

Lex sent a glare towards Nano.

"Or he glares like that. He doesn't even talk to the girls around here."

"I do talk to them! They just ignore me."

Richard started laughing while Nano put a hand to his chin.

"Then let's work on that. I've got to work on my accuracy. Richy has to work on not busting the tank when he drives and you, oh graceful commander have to learn to talk to people."

Lex strengthened his glare but felt his expression soften slightly when Nano smiled wholeheartedly. He eventually shook his head and walked over to the _Jumbo._ A solid dent was in the side armour and before he could examine the tank anymore the top cupola opened. He saw a flash of blond hair as a woman appeared and looked at him.

"Nice job there. Didn't think we'd get out maneuvered so quickly. You the gunner?"

Lex shook his head.

"That'd be the guy over yonder with the orange hair."

"Ah I see. Well excuse me."

He took a step to the side as the woman leapt from the turret and walked over to their tank. Next came the driver who Lex sighed at and directed over to their tank as well. Then the loader. And finally came to the commander who sat on the turret while staring at their tank. She absently twirled a part of her hair as she talked he'd noticed.

"It's a good tank."

Lex chuckled as he used the _Jumbo_ as a wall and leaned against it.

"True… you think they'll allow it?"

"In matches? That would depend on the boss. But I'm sure she's got it worked out."

"Here's to hoping."

He held up his fist and the girl gently tapped it with her own.

"Believe in her. She'll get you through. Hell I'm sure she had this entire thing worked out before you even came here. She was probably planning for your induction here for a while. "

Lex shook his head as he looked up at the sky.

"I wouldn't have a clue about that. But I'll deal with whatever comes my way like I have before. Skirt around the issue before hitting it in the back."

"Haha is that so? Well then catch."

He turned his head and caught the shining silver coin. He then rose an eyebrow.

"My lucky coin. Don't think I'll need it now that I've been beaten by a rookie team."

"I'll treasure it." He then spun around and offered a hand "Names Lex."

The girl smiled as she took his hand and landed on the ground.

"Sasha. Let's get along oh wonderful Junior."

"This junior lobbed a shell through your side. "

Sasha shrugged.

"So what? We'll beat you next time. Count on it."

They both laughed quietly before Lex went back to looking at the sky. His eyes settled back onto the star shaped cloud and nodded slightly.

* * *

The final day of the week had came around and the duo of teens stared at their tank. The hull and turret had been painted with various shades of green and a tad bit of brown. The colours meshed together so well that Lex was beginning to think that there was no way Nano had done this in a mere week. He glanced at the orange haired teen who was smirking like he'd won the lottery. Richard had ducked off somewhere and now that the setting sun was reflecting of the metal barrel the tank itself seemed to give off an ominous aura.

"I think I should say this… you'll be doing our camo for our battles."

"I'll take it. We're practically invisible now if we stay at range… did ya mount the rangefinder?"

Lez shook his head.

"Checked the regulations for Senshado beforehand. Its unsanctioned equipment so I can't mount it on the tank. That said though…"

"What?"

"The rules never said anything about us having a handheld version… I wonder if I could integrate the rangefinder optics with a spyglass…. That should be fun."

"Hha. See now that's why we keep you around."

"Because I tinker?"

"Abstract thinking alongside a complete disregard for fair play. The perfect commander for an illegal tank."

"Not illegal anymore I'm afraid."

The two of them turned towards the unfamiliar voice before Lex adopted his usual slack salute. In front of him stood Ami Chono. The instructor who'd been kind enough to offer her help in training them. She smiled as her black eyes radiated an odd mix of emotion . Pure confidence mixed with a gentle kindness Lez would expect from a bear hunting a rabbit. He shivered slightly as he turned back to the tank.

"Oh did we get approved Ma'am?"

"You did. It took some time but I blew them away."

Nano's normally carefree smile became slightly crooked as he stared at the woman in front of him.

"How exactly did you… blow them away?"

The sound of a clipboard hitting Nanos head resounded through the hanger and when Alex glanced back he saw Sarah had arrived as well.

"We explained how the tanks one of a kind. Then told them that we wanted the public to see the potential that the planned projects had. Then we finished by saying that we used the materials that abided by their rules."

"And they accepted that?"

Sarah nodded.

"After a little argument between the more progressive thinkers they did. Though you'll have a higher restriction on the amount of shells you can bring due to the autoloader. Ten drums."

He heard Nano whistle.

"Thirty rounds huh…"

Lez laughed slightly.

"Think you can hit every shot cause we'll need it with half the ammo supply."

"Have some faith. I've only missed the first shot we fired at the range. Every other one was a perfect bullseye."

"Not perfect. You hit a few centimeters to the left or right . Wind still throwing you off?"

"We don't have a measuring device for it's speed so it's mostly guessing. I'm just happy I can hit. Besides. A stray shot hitting a tanks drive wheel isn't so bad is it?"

Lex let out a hum of approval and when he looked back he saw the women had left. A clipboard sat on the table and Lex sighed as he walked up to it. He skimmed through it and noted the map attached on it. He pulled the small note attached to the map off and read it's contents.

 _Know that map off by heart. Your fighting there when we get to the school._

Lex reattached the note and map before throwing the clipboard over to Nano.

"Find a few choke points and sniper spots. Then grab some camo webbing. Get Richard a copy of the updated map and let him plan some routes around. I want two escape routes ready for every path."

He then pointed to a few engineers.

"If you guys have time I'd like that gun completely recalibrated. Nano. You're in charge of guiding that."

Nano blinked in surprise but started laughing slightly.

"Consider it done Chief!"

Lex walked out while tapping his hand against his thigh in thought. He found himself in front of a lake when his came out of his thoughts. He stared at the water as it rippled slightly. He sat on the ground and kept staring into the water. A gust of wind blew a leaf into the center of the pond and he stood up when the cold breeze snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw the sun was setting as an orange glow settled over the sky. He spun around and started jogging back to his dorm with a smile plastered across his face.

* * *

The last week of preparation went past and the three teens stood in front of their tank. The rather fitting name of _Shadowcat_ was painted across the barrel in mixture of blue, orange and silver lettering and a small black cat was drawn on the center of the hull. Richard clapped and gathered everyone's attention.

"I give it a seven out of ten."

"Seriously? I spent three days and nights getting the colours just right!"

"Yeah I know… but _Shadowcat?_ Really?"

"What's wrong with it? We're fast like a _hellcat_ and we're small enough to be able to blend into most of the surroundings. Therefore the _Shadowcat."_

Lex nodded slightly.

"He has a point. That does work logically… though I have to go with Richard on this. The name's terrible."

"You'll all come to like it eventually. I'll make sure of it."

They tried to ignore the almost maniacal laughter that came from Nano as they walked over to the tank. The engine roared as they gunned it out of the hanger and a minute passed until they arrived at the _Hercules_ where the instructor and her tank sat. Ten or so minutes passed as they waited for the engineering crew to get their tank into the aircraft and ready for transport. Lex reached into his pocket and started chewing on a stick of blueberry flavored bubblegum as he tapped his foot on the concrete. Eventually the tank was ready and the three of them boarded the aircraft. They strapped themselves in before a shudder went through the hull. A couple of minutes went by and Lex felt his hearing decrease. A yawn worked its way through his body and he dozed off.

His blurry vision cleared a little too quickly for his liking as he let his body move on autopilot into his position in the tank. His internal clock said it was midday and the sun streaming through the windows confirmed his guess. A buzzing in his ears made him tap the earpiece he'd been given and he heard Richards voice through it as the tank idled.

"She's insane!"

Nanos voice came next from beside him.

"Not really. The tank weighs what? 20 tons. It was made to airdrop."

"Not with people inside it!"

Lex chuckled.

"Ah but where's the fun in playing it safe. Besides. We get to leave an impression on the ladies down below."

"Yeah. That were fucking _crazy!"_

Nano hummed.

"I don't think that's such a bad idea. Some people like crazy."

"You all do know I can hear you right?"

They froze when they heard the instructors voice though their earpieces.

"You boys really are quite energetic. To be talking about girls when you're about to be thrown out of a plane. Youth these days."

The sound of air rushing by intensified as the three of them braced. A sudden pull yanked the tank forwards and it was then that the sounds started. A screech like a banshee tore the air asunder as the metal pad the tank sat on skidded across the cargo bay before it all vanished. For a moment gravity seemed to let go for the tank and three of them felt like they were floating in the air. An abrupt stop came when a jolt that shook them to their cores went through their legs and the tank kept skidding across the ground. Eventually it stopped and Lex groaned.

"Everyone alive?"

Nano groaned.

"Never doing that again… I think I'm gonna be sick."

Richard piped up as he stretched his previously white knuckled hands.

"Please. Do that outside the tank. My stomach's barely holding itself together as it is right now."

Lex stood up on shaking legs and opened the hatch. His eyes widened as he found that the tank had landed in an oval of sorts. He took in the salty sea air and let it calm his nerves as he cracked his neck and tapped his earpiece.

"We're at point B Richard. Let's get moving to the meeting point."

"Give me a minute…" the drivers hatch opened. "I wanna double check the tracks."

Lex nodded as he carefully climbed out of the turret and jumped onto the right side. He peered at the tracks which seemed to be good to go from his point of view. He glanced over at Richard who cocked his head to the side slightly.

"Tell the instructor we'll be a little late. I'm gonna reset our tracks. Left ones off by a few centimeters. Nano! Help me with this !"

The reply from the gunner came shortly after as he got out of the tank and Lex tapped his earpiece. A quick message was sent and he waited in silence as the other two repaired the track with an efficiency that he was sure would've made at least one of the engineering crew a tad bit jealous. Once they were good to go the tank rocketed through the streets. Until it came to a large brick warehouse of sorts. Alex tapped his earpiece and let it connect to the instructor.

"Ma'am. Requesting permission to join the battle."

"Permission granted… go easy on them. They're still new to this."

Lex rolled his eyes as he leaned back into his chair. A pinging ran through the forest before Instructor Chino's voice came over the loudspeakers.

"Attention all students. Stop firing on one another. Your new target is the green M71 that has entered the field. This is now a teamwork exercise."

Lex opened the hatch as he grinned.

"Come get us girls. We're waiting." He then turned to Richard. "Lets set up at the second position. I want to test the spyglass."

"On it. Nano. Prep for range. Load the APDS."

"My plan exactly."

The tank flew across the hard dirt of the forest before arriving at a hill. Lex jumped out and went prone at the top before checking for the sun's position. He found it behind him and grinned as he flipped the cover off the lens of his spyglass. He held the black cylinder to his eye and watched as a pair of neon green numbers settled in the corner.

 _So it works … good._

He twisted the front and watched as the magnification did it's job. He waited for ten minutes like that until he saw the first tank appear from the forest.

 _Hmm… the 38t as a scout huh… it's fast enough I guess._

"Nano. You see it."

"The 38t?"

"Yeah. Range… 800 meters. Closing at about 50 kilometers. Aim for the track."

"Prepping. Set. Firing."

The bang tore the air behind him in half and Lex felt the shockwave as the round flew from the barrel. It continued straight on and he watched as it tore through the tanks drive wheel on the left side. The sudden loss of the track forced the tank to rapidly veer to the left and Lex waved a hand into the air.

"Next two should hit the turret drive and engine. You decided the timing. Range is 500. Stationary."

"Firing."

Two shots fired in four seconds and both hit their intended targets. The white flag rose into the air and Lex hopped back into the tank as Richard gunned it towards the next spot. He patted Nano on the shoulder as the teen relaxed his hold on the trigger mechanism.

"I… I did it. Hit a target moving faster then a _Sherman._ I fucking rock!"

"You do indeed. Though that was the easy one. How long on the reload?"

"Five more seconds."

"Point five Richard."

The silver hair teen nodded and Lex felt the tank shift as it changed direction. He closed his eyes and let the sounds of the tank fill his ears before something like a dull bang made them jolt open.

"Rich. Pivot turn left. Now!"

The driver complied and the tank span to the left as a shell detonated where it had been driving before. Richard accelerated and they flew through the forest as shells went off around them.

 _A trap… nah no way we were predicted. The tanks a prototype so it can't be that they'd know we'd snipe… could they?_

Various other thoughts ran through his head as the tank continued to weave between the trees and rocks that made up the forest. Nano turned to Richard.

"How fast are we going?"

"I say. Sixty kilometers. I cant reach full speed with all the weaving. How far are they?"

"About a kilometer out… we should lose them if we can get to deeper foliage."

Lex's thoughts froze as he came to a realization.

"Richard. Move to E8."

"You sure? That's rocky terrain. Our speed will drop significantly."

"They're forcing us in this direction. Look at the where the shells land. Whenever we stray too far to one side a shell puts us back on the right path."

"Oh…Ambush. Sneaky."

"Yeah. So let's ambush their ambush."

Nano laughed.

"Now that's where your head was."

Lex nodded as he smiled and the tank sharply turned before disappearing further into the forest. A few minutes passed without incident and their tank stopped on top of a large incline. A pair of rocks stood in front of them with a slit in the middle that had been carved out thanks to a pair of explosive rounds curtesy of Nano. The barrel sat in the crevice and Lex used the elevated barrel to hop on top of the rocks. The vantage point let him see a fair distance without the spyglass but with it he could see even further. He took a second to marvel at the view and shook his thoughts back into focus. He stared at the various small dust clouds that rose up and took note of their positions. That was when he saw it. A glinting silver hull that was rectangular. A large gun sat in the center of its front armor and it had been camouflaged rather well. He had a hunch that Nano wouldn't be able to see it but he noted it down on the map next to him as he kept searching. Next he saw the 89b and smiled when he ranged it.

"You see the 89b Nano?"

"Its in the open so it's kinda hard to miss. You got a range?"

"1025 meters. Stationary."

"Track, turret and engine again?"

"Nah. Just blow a hole through it's front with the AP. Its armor's thin enough so that should knock it out. "

"In that case I'm firing in two seconds."

Time slowed before the bang sounded out through the forest. It deafened Lex for a moment but when he looked though the spyglass he saw the white flag and whistled.

"Good shot. You got the wind to help you huh?"

"Nah. Just used out height and prayed."

The two of them laughed while Richard groaned. Lex hopped down and into the open hatch as the tank moved once again. More time passed and the trio were hiding the tank in a bush with the help of a camo net as they waited for someone to appear. Twenty minutes passed with not even a sound and Nano started humming to himself while Lex tapped his foot to the rhythm. Eventually they started moving again and while they drove through the forest they came upon the M3 Lee which was shot through it's side while attempting to turn towards them. The reload started and Lex started feeling suspicious. His thoughts started screaming that this was way too easy a win and a loud bang followed by a shell flying just over the turret made his eyes widen before Richard gunned the tank away. Another shell hit the ground next to them and the tank evaded while both Nano and him let out a growl as the turret turned.

Then it happened. The sound of sheering metal invaded their ears as a shell hit the rear track and the tank suddenly lurched to the side. Lex couldn't react fast enough and watched as the barrel of the Panzer four pointed at them. Out of the bush in front of them appeared the Stugg as well and so he sighed while smiling and opened the hatch. A white flag in hand as he stood up. A thought settled in his head.

 _Best skirmish ever!_


	3. Chapter 3

He lay on the turret as he stared up at the clouds. A spiral of wool formed up above almost like foam on water. Slowly floating across the blue ocean.

He laughed slightly and kept looking as he recalled the conversation yesterday. They had surrendered after being surrounded and losing a track. Nano had wandered off. Probably to talk to some of the girls while he and Richard tended to the tank. Well Richard had tended to it. He had sat on the turret while staring at the Panzer four. The short barrel 7.5cm glinted in the light and he heard the sound of metal groaning as the hatch on top of it's turret opened. Out came a brown haired girl whose face Lex matched with his dossier on Miho Nazashumi. He gave a small nod to her as she walked up.

"Um… are you the commander of the tank?"

"That'd be me. Names Lex."

"Oh." The girl smiled and Alex swore the sun seemed to praise her when he considered the sheer amount of glare that came from behind her. "I'm Miho Nazashumi. Nice to meet you."

She offered a hand and Lex stepped down from his turret and he took it. He smiled before breaking the handshake and turning his head.

"Richard. Get the tracks fixed if you can. The repair truck'll be here soon but let's try and get the _cat_ moving before that."

"No can do. Drive wheels busted and we didn't have a spare. We'll have to wait."

Lex sighed as he looked back to Miho. His mind whirred and an idea formed.

"I'm going for a walk. Care to join me?"

"Um…" he saw her face turn slightly red and he started laughing in his head. "Okay." His mind stopped for a moment but he blinked the surprise away and turned to the left as he walked past Richard who held out a hand. Lex met it with his own and he kept walking in silence until he came to a tree a fair distance away from the others. Miho stopped too and Lex saw her start to fidget slightly.

"So where are you on the Panzer… you'd look like a radio operator."

"Oh… no I'm the commander."

He faked a surprised blink and nodded.

"I see. Already huh?" Silence settled again and he fought against the awkwardness to open his mouth.

"Did you make the plan to catch us?"

She nodded. "It didn't work as well as I wanted though… we lost the president and the volleyball club so quickly." She looked down and Lex started laughing in order to make her look up.

"I think it did go well. Nano's an amazing gunner. Pair him with Richard and you have a dream team who can both drive and shoot. Those two never had a chance."

"Um… who is Nano?"

"The orange haired guy who's probably flirting with a couple of your teammates. You'll meet him soon.

Personally I'm more interested in you." Her cheeks flushed again and Lex sighed quietly as he made a note to rephrase himself next time. "To think this school has a brilliant commander like yourself."

"I'm… I'm not really that brilliant. We only won because we had to sacrifice the Lee. Id rather not do that again."

Lex moved his head to the side slightly.

"Why not? You won the fight and I'm sure they were happy to help. I don't think anyone here will be glaring daggers at you other then me."

A look of surprise covered her face as Lex smirked slightly.

"Are you angry about the way I fight?"

"A little too cautious but that might be a good thing when I consider that it's your schools first time in a tank. Props to your gunner by the way. It was a good shot. If I'd expected it I would've told Nano to rotate the turret."

A look realization followed shortly by her looking like she wanted to ask a question appeared.

"How did you see our first shot? We were really far away so I don't know how you avoided it?"

Lex smiled slightly.

" When we're the only tank it's easy to tell if someone's shooting at you. I simply heard the sound and told Richard to dodge… that's all I'm good for honestly."

"…I don't think so…. You planned a plan around someone else's plan with only guesses and predictions… it's good."

He looked up and saw her bright smile which he found was infectious. He then cracked his neck.

"Kind _and_ intelligent. You'll be quite the catch when the boys start coming after you." He patted her on the head as he walked past. The quick glance he'd stolen showed her red face and he laughed as he walked back towards the tank. He tapped the trees as he walked past them and hopped back onto the top of the tank while he polished the spyglass.

"Went well I tank it?"

He paused for a second to give Richard a flat stare.

"Shit pun Rich. Though I guess it did. Left the commander red faced so I think that went well."

"Wow you've only talked to her once and you've already pissed her off. A new record."

"Not pissed off. The other red faced."

"Intentionally?"

"Not particularly no."

"Dense ass fucker."

Lex shrugged

"Not my fault. I only thought about the connotations after I'd said the words. Besides… she's not in the ballpark for a guy like me. Yours on the other hand…"

"Sorry to disappoint but Elly is enough woman for me to deal with."

He blinked in surprise.

"So that's why you kissed her before we left!"

Richard bolted upright.

"Wait! You saw that?!"

"You mean the twenty second french? You were seriously into it. Nano even volunteered to go and _remind_ you that we had leave."

The slight tint on the normally calm teens cheeks made Lex burst out laughing as he rapped his knuckle against the turret.

"What's so funny?"

They both turned to look at Nano who'd appeared with a confused look across his face. Richard rose an eyebrow as his expression returned to normal.

"Done with your harem?"

"I have a harem?... Oh you mean the girls. Nah. They're the gunners who wanted some tips for shooting."

Lex narrowed his eyes.

"What'd you do?"

Nano held both his hands up.

"Stop stressing chief. I know when to be professional."

The suspicious glare continued.

"Seriously. All I did was ask what they had trouble with and gave them a way to practice. That's it. End of story. No physical contact of any sort. I swear."

A few seconds passed before Lex nodded.

"Well at least I won't have to deal with any complaints… you, are a fucking handful."

"Hey! I'm not that bad… I've only been scolded twice."

"In two weeks… drop the ratio and I'll consider letting you use the _Cat_ to pick up girls."

"Really?"

"No."

Nano laughed awkwardly and Lex closed his eyes while he swung his legs on the turret. Eventually the tanks were returned back to the warehouse and Richard went with the engineering club to design something or other. Lex hadn't really been listening. His vision had taken a turn for the worse and he saw another flash as he sat on a bench.

The windows reflected the light. He saw the woman. A red coat with fur lining the collar. A smile plastered on her face. His face was streaming tears. Crimson fluid ran down his leg as he clutched it. The gun came up and a bullet casing hitting the floor was the only sound he heard before the window exploded and he was back in reality.

He breathed hard and felt his legs trembling. He clutched his face and took deep breaths as his hands shook. A minute or so passed as he calmed down and after wiping the cold sweat from his face he stood up and went for a walk. The equally cold air chilled his body and he slowed his pace as he wandered around the massive school ship. His never resting mind continued to whir as he kept thinking of improvements for his plans in order to distract himself from the slight sense of terror that kept picking at the back of his neck.

 _Need a new muzzle break for the cannon. A new paint job. Should give that to Nano. Tracks should be fine. Richards got that covered. Ammo should be restocked. Spyglass needs tuning._

He reached into the pocket of his jumper and pulled out the black cylinder. The surface had elegant engravings made from a white metal and as he twisted the front the engravings twirled and danced. When he came out of his thoughts he was sitting on the side of the ship. He closed one of his eyes and looked through the clear lens. He saw nothing but the open ocean. The sun had started to set so the usually blue water was glowing slightly orange giving him a picturesque view that made him wish he had a camera. His sense of calm returned and he kept staring after removing the glass from his eye. The wind blew and the chill returned enough for him to decided it was time to sleep. A rather long walk awaited him as he trudged through the wind to get back to the dorms. He walked up the stairs until he came to the door and after grabbing the key from his pocket he opened the door. The space in front of him crammed everything he needed to live into a single large room. A table sat in the center with a few other essential nearby. A wall separated the kitchen but in honesty he couldn't really care about that. He made tracks to the bed and let himself flop down into the soft mattress as he sighed. The energy left his body and he fell asleep within minutes as the fatigue melted away.

* * *

His eyes were wide as he stared at the site in front of him… the once beautiful vehicles in front of him were now dead. Instead replaced with brightly coloured abominations made from steel. The normally grey surface of the Stugg was a vibrant red with flags hanging from it. The brown Lee was now bright pink. The 38t had turned to gold as if it had been touched by Midas himself. The only two tanks that we're normal were the 89b and the Panzer IV.

Lex's eye was twitching but he shook his head before looking at the thankfully still normal _Shadowcat._ The oddly silver drive wheel glinted and the new muzzle brake shone in the sunlight. Nano sat on the hull as the others gathered over by the Panzer IV. He whistled and gathered everyone's attention.

"Okay people. Let's get this meeting under way. Miho. If you'd explain the strategy."

"Ok."

The strategy stood as a simple ambush. The trial match between this school and St Gloria's was organized and confirmed a little too hastily from Lex's point of view. He stared at the tanks and made a mental note to tell Miho about what the _cat_ and her crew would be doing. A smile worked its way across his face as he recalled the information he'd heard.

 _There will be four Matilda's and a Churchill. In order to even the match St Gloria's has been given another tank to use but we don't know what it is yet. All slow so they're easy prey for the Cats main gun... Just got to angle her right._

He'd stayed up all night with the plans for each tank in the British themed academy's armory and he'd narrowed it down to a few tanks. Most of which were light tanks if he looked at the slow speed composition that the academy had at the moment. His guess was a _Cromwell_ but he decided to keep it his mind unfocused so he didn't tunnel vision. The group were currently at the battlefield area which was made up of a sandy canyon like area and an urban city. Both of which favored the Shadowcat. He looked at the colour scheme and noted that it had changed from its usual green to a mixture of various shades of brown. He nodded over at Nano who stood up and walked over. He then glanced at Miho and saw that she was still talking with the group, so he looked around for Richard. He hadn't seen him for a while and that made him worry slightly but he closed his eyes for a brief second and calmed himself down. He turned to Miho as she finished talking.

"You think we'll make it Commander?"

She gave a hesitant nod.

"If they don't predict our ambush it should work… I hope. Once you finish scouting try and link up with us. Your firepower would be helpful."

He nodded.

"Should probably tell you this. If we see the fifth tank were going after it. This match is an elimination one so if we take it down then it should make it easier for you."

"Ok. Just don't take any risks. Your speed is our biggest advantage here."

He laughed but nodded at the same time as he span around. He hopped into the tank and almost jumped in surprise when he saw Richard tapping his foot as he waited.

"What took you so long?"

"So that's where you were. Sorry got held up explaining the plan again. How the tank?"

"Good enough. The sand tracks are installed so we shouldn't lose as much speed going over any dunes. Heats against us though. We'll be boiling in the tank if we stay inside it for too long."

Lex nodded and reached for a bottle of water which he passed to Richard. The driver took it and the sound of boots hitting the metal floor told Lex that Nano had gotten in as well. The tension increased and a large bang like an artillery cannon signaled the matches start. The T71 went flying across the hard surface of the ground as the other tanks veered off towards the elevated part of the canyon. They eventually came to a large wall of rock and Lex got out of the tank and onto the turret. The barrel elevated as he balanced on the muzzle brake and he used the height to grab hold of the rocks edge as he clambered to the top and crouched down with his spyglass and map in hand. He saw a large cloud of dust and tapped his earpiece while looking through the spyglass.

"Panzer. Cat here. Churchill and two Matilda's at point E5. Moving north at about 20 kilometers per hour…" he looked around and saw another smaller cloud. "Two more Matilda's. Point B7…, that's it for now. We're going after the two Matilda's. We'll keep you updated if something happens."

"Thank you Cat. Good luck."

He capped the spyglass and folded it down before sticking it in his pocket. He carefully dropped himself onto the muzzle brake and got back inside the tank followed by telling Richard to go after the two lone Matilda's. The engine roared as the tank soared across the dunes. Every time they crested a dune their fingers tensed but each time it was clear. Lex looked at the map and told Richard to stop before the next ridge. His earpiece buzzed and he tapped it.

"Lex! The Churchill attacked us. We've begun the trap. Where are you?"

"C6. About to ambush the Matilda's. You still good?"

An explosion went off and Lex's eyes widened.

"Miho!"

"I'm fine. A round exploded next to us. We'll be fine without your help for now. I just thought it was better to keep you updated. Try to get back as soon as your finished."

The connection closed and Lex closed his eyes. He nodded to Richard and the tank drove over the hill. It sped across the ground and Lex smiled as he saw the rear of the Matilda's. Nano grinned as he aimed and fired. The round traveling straight through the rear of the first tank before the referee system kicked in and the white flag rose into the air. The turret turned to face the second tank and Nano fired again. The shell ricocheted off the angled side and Nano grit his teeth. The tank continued to turn and a shell flew past the T71 before landing behind it. Another one fired and Nano rapidly rotated the turret. The shell bounced off the angled armor and Richard started swerving erratically. The Matilda's slow turret traverse became a curse as did it's heavy armor as Richard drove right next to the tank. One last shot was fired from the barrel of the T71 and it went straight through the Matilda's side. The flag rose and the _Cat_ drove away. The prolonged engagement he'd planned for didn't occur and he was grateful for it. Once the _Cat_ hit it's reload time it was pretty much defenseless for at least thirty seconds and that in itself made the tank terrible for standoffs. He patted Nano on the shoulder and quickly checked his comms. He nodded when he heard where the others were and gave Richard a general direction.

The tank kept driving until it entered the grass covered fields that led to the city. Lex had glared somewhat when he'd heard that the only tanks left had been the T71 and the Panzer four but now as he stared at the score he was seriously doubting their chances of winning. The enemy still had their Churchill and the secret tank from what Miho had told him before the Panzer four had been demolished by the Churchill and it's superior armor. The crew had now set up on a hill overlooking the city and Lex lay on the ground with his spyglass. Whenever he moved his head so did the turret so he had a hunch that Nano was thinking the same thing as him.

He kept looking through the city with his spyglass and that was when he spotted it. His eyes widened significantly as he whistled.

"…Nano."

"Yeah?"

" Can our APDS pen 114mm of armor at this distance?"

"Possibly. Why?"

"… I found the secret tank… it's a fucking Excelsior."

"Wait what? That's a prototype like ours… when did St Gloria's get their hands on that?"

"Don't know but you see the large tower in the center of town?"

"Hang on.". the turret turned. "Yeah… oh wow. That's got to be at least six meters long!"

"Think you can hit it from the hill to our south east."

"Hmm… Richard. Set me up on an angle there. I'll need your ranging from there Chief."

Lex nodded as he climbed onto the tank. He held onto one of the hand holds and the tank moved at a moderate speed to the slightly higher hill. Lex got off and watched as Richard moved the tank until it was angled up on the hill. Lex crouched and held the spyglass to his eye as he looked at the two numbers on top.

"600 meters. Stationary."

Nano let out a breath.

 _Six hundreds normally here but I'm at an angle so I'll want to aim higher to overcome gravity. Factor in possible wind resistance and humidity and a little bit to the left…. There should do._

"Firing one."

The bang left a ringing in his ears that he still wasn't used to and Lex watched the Excelsior. The shell spiraled through the air and just before it hit he saw a glint of light above the tank. The shell came down vertically and glanced off the side of the turret. Lex's eyes widened as he figured out what Nano had done.

"Holy genius. You had Richard angle the tank so your shot would fly at a higher angle. Add in gravity and the round would come down almost vertically onto the weak point… I underestimated you."

"Most people do. Is it dead?"

Lex looked through his spyglass and his eyes narrowed as the Excelsior started moving in their direction .

"Nope. Shell missed."

Richard grunted.

"What's the play?"

Lex sighed.

"Time to use our maneuverability. Get us inside the city."

Lex boarded the tank and sat inside it as his mind worked again. He nodded as he thought of a basic plan that he hoped would work. The _Shadowcat_ moved down the streets and it continued to speed through the town until they arrived at the multilevel carpark. The tank rapidly ascended and Lex was happy for once that the tank was so short. They sat on the top with the front of the tank hanging slightly over the edge. He looked through his spyglass and saw the Excelsior slowly moving across the street. It kept moving and Lex sat on the turret as he waited. The Excelsior drove under them and Lex quickly got into the tank. He then braced himself as Richard gunned the engine. The tank fell through the air and Nano fired. The vertical shell went straight through the engine and another went through the center of the tank before the T71 landed. It's slanted front hit the top of the tank and through sheer luck the tank flipped and landed on it's tracks. The turret had spun around and one final round went through the Excelsior tracks. The white flag rose and the three of them celebrated slightly. They stopped immediately when the Churchill appeared and fired. It's shell just missing the tank and before Richard could drive away the machine gun opened up and tore through the lightly armored front as another shell was fired. It missed with a centimeter to spare as Richard gunned the engine and the Shadowcat disappeared into the concrete dungeon ahead. He quickly pulled out his map and let his mind whir as he came up with routes that the Churchill could have taken and so he had Richard pull a sharp turn in hopes of flanking the slow heavy tank. They came around a corner and his eyes widened as the gun fired. The shell hit the tank with enough force to tear through the drive wheel and track in one shot. Their momentum kept going and the entire tank veered to the side before flipping.

The three of them groaned and Lex carefully picked himself up off the roof that had become the floor. He clutched his head as he sat back down.

"Everyone green?"

Nano was the next to move and he turned around on his side towards him.

"We dead yet?"

"Nope."

"Oww… my body."

"Rich your legs okay?"

The bundle of silver hair that was Richards head nodded.

"Shit plan Lex. Really shit plan."

Lex held up one of his hands before hitting it hard into the metal next to him.

"Didn't think the CO would predict our move… though we are a light tank… who couldn't take a single shot from their gun.. I kind of see how they saw through our attack. Nano… we need to out smoke dispensers on our tank."

The gunner groaned as he laid back on the metal surface.

"Why? We can already hide with out camo. Plus we'd be broadcasting our position to everyone. Not a good idea."

"City fighting… our camos useless if we're in a city. With smoke we can disappear for a few seconds. And you get a concealed area to fire from. Win win."

"Point taken… think we can mount some Rich?"

The driver nodded slightly after a second if thought.

"Turret mounted we can probably put a stack or two of four grenades. Maybe one on the front. I'll see what I can do when we get back… whenever that is."

They all waited and stared out forwards towards the sound of the rumbling engine that the Churchill had. It ticked over and the watch on his wrist kept on keeping the time as he let the stopwatch feature track how long it took for a repair truck to get them. He had a hunch it'd take a while.

* * *

The crowd that had gathered was rather large from what Lex saw. He was sitting on the roof of a building with his spyglass and laughing his heart out with the sight he saw. For once he considered himself lucky to be a guy as he watched the girls in their pink clothing dancing on a truck that slowly drove around town. He sat on the chair he had and took a sip of the canned drink in his hand as he shifted his gaze slightly. He marveled at the size difference between the two schools ships and he continued to stare before pulling out the small letter he'd received. A small red bow was wrapped around the edge and he looked at the address it had been sent to.

 _To the crew of the T71_

He laughed slightly and opened the letter. The first words he saw made he spit his drink in the opposite direction.

 _You're insane idiots who have zero self preservation instinct._

He kept reading.

 _But insanity is a classification given by those who cannot understand the thoughts of a person. So we'd like to try and see who the crew that beat our tank actually is. Please do come to our ship. Specifically the Tank Coliseum for a grand dinner with us. Wear something nice._

 _Regards._

 _The Excelsior._

He stared at the end of the letter and rolled his eyes before tapping the earpiece he had on. It pinged and a moment later it connected. The sound of waves in the background made him sigh quietly.

"Why'd ya call chief?"

"To reprimand you for ogling the girls at the beach."

"Hey I'm not doing that right now!"

"Then what exactly are you doing?"

"… I'd rather not say."

"… That so?..."

"Yeah… so did you call to order me around or was there another reason?"

"You wouldn't have a suit ready would you?"

"Why would I need a suit?"

"We got invited to dinner by the Excelsior crew."

"Wait what!"

"Yeah. My thoughts exactly. So you got one or not?"

"I'll have one by then. Does Richy have one?"

"No idea. I was gonna call and ask but he doesn't keep his earpiece nearby. I'm gonna text him about it next."

"Well you do that. It seems that I've got to go shopping. Meet you at the school at six."

"Sure thing."

The connection closed and Lex turned to the phone in his hand. He tapped quickly and waited for a reply. A few seconds passed and a the calm response of _doesn't everyone_ came through making him sigh. He set a meeting point and time and went back to his drink after staring at the ships for another moment.

 _Lets see… full formal should work so. Blue tie with the black suit. Maybe a deeper grey…. Nah._


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello to my wonderful readers. Hows it going? Been while huh? Well yeah...**

 **Life decided to screw me over and as of now I've not really got a device to write on... So yeah... Hopefully I'll have something ready soon but I cant promise that there will be a new chapter this month other then this. Who knows maybe I'll figure out a way to get all my lost data back. So read and enjoy for those of you who make it this far. Do review any feedback you have. Good or bad I wont mind.**

* * *

He didn't think he could describe the place in front of him. Not in one word anyway.

The outside resembled one of those old school English pubs but from what he saw inside it looked more like a restaurant for the rich and famous.

His mind was extremely confused as to whether he was under-dressed for the occasion or over-dressed. The other two folks next to him didn't seem to be bothered with the implications in the least. Nano and his bright orange tie making a statement to all the people around them while Richard and his monochrome attire gave an extreme sense of formality that only hurt Lex's mind more when he addressed his previous issue.

He rubbed the relatively new bruise on his cheek as he contemplated his choice in clothing further.

* * *

 **Previously**

A dojo stood in front of him. Well he assumed it was a dojo. It had the whole, 'pay respect to those above you' aura he'd expected from a dojo and when he opened the door he saw Richard brutally preying on a punching bag. So brutal was the punishment the bag took that it had started to rip and a small flurry of punches followed by a heavier slug rung out across the padded floor. As did a series of claps as Lex walked inside. He waved as Richard took a small towel and whipped down his face. Lex took a bottle of water from the table next to him and drank some.

"So this is where you disappear to after practice?"

"It is. What about it?"

Lex shrugged.

"Didn't really strike me as the place you'd be. You look more like a bookworm."

"We're taking about looks are we?"

"Sure I guess. Why?"

He saw Richard walk over to one of the tables and pick his phone up off of it.

"I found a video of you."

"Oh joy? What's it about?"

"Why don't you tell me Mr Champion of Tae Kwon Do for two years running?"

"..."

He looked at the video. Two people stood on opposing sides of a large circle. One was significantly smaller then the other. The larger man pushed forwards and broke into a run. Three steps was all it took for the man to reach his smaller opponent. He sent a flying kick as he leapt and the boy moved his body to the side. The kick sailed past him and he ran to the other side of the ring as the taller man recovered. The boys stance changed as he relaxed and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the larger man was on him. The boy took a step back before slamming his foot upwards. The kick connected with the underside of the man's jaw and he slumped to the ground as the boy retracted his foot.

Lex stared at the video before rubbing the back of his head.

"Would you believe me if I said that was an accident?"

Richard stared at him blankly.

"How do you accidentally knock someone out with a kick to the underside of the jaw?!"

Lex laughed awkwardly.

"He came at me so I reacted. Well... More like I took the stupid route and avoided injury.. if you don't count the sprained ankle."

"How's that accidental?"

"I didn't mean to do it. I just kinda did."

He swore Richards eye twitched momentarily before he shook his head.

"Spar with me."

Lex started coughing on his drink.

"Wait... What!"

"Spar with me."

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"Because I want you too."

Lex opened his mouth to retort but saw Richard moving away towards a large red circle with a white centre. He sighed as he put the water bottle down and stripped off his jumper. He stretched a couple of his muscles and rolled his neck as he walked over to his side of the circle.

"You sure you want to do this? Especially with no equipment?"

"Trust me. I can take a hit."

Lez sighed again.

"Don't haunt me if your head cracks."

He let out a breath as he relaxed his body. A few seconds passed before the match started. Richard adopted a guard protecting his face and stood in place.

 _Okay then... Boxing stance. He's taller and has longer arms then me. High kicks won't do much good with the guard so aim for the lower half... Or finish this with a strong blow... Sternums maybe... First thing first. Burst momentum._

He took the inaction by Richard as him letting him get the first strike and so he took the opportunity. He sprinted forwards and with a small hop added more momentum to his strike which came in the form of a flying kick using both his feet. Richard blocked the strike with both his hands in a protective cross pattern before pushing back and sending him flying. He used his hands to turn his fall into a backflip and landed on his feet. He let out a breath and relaxed his body.

 _Strong defense... Lets do things a little differently then._

He blinked and saw Richard cross the distance almost instantly. A jab came for his face and he moved to the side to dodge. He didn't waste the momentum he built up and swept at Richards legs. The silver haired teen stepped back and avoided while Lex kept the rotation going and converted the failed sweep into a roundhouse kick with all his motion behind it as he came up. Richard stepped forwards and grabbed his foot as it came straight for the teens midsection.

 _Oh shit._

He felt his body get torn off the mat as Richard threw him across the ring. He used a hand to flip himself and made used of his backwards momentum to coil up his body by ducking down. He sprung forwards and felt something heavy impact the side of his cheek with enough force to send him to the floor. He let himself stay down as he closed his eyes and reset his focus while letting out a breath to relax his muscles which he noted were burning quite intensely.

He opened his eyes and saw a hand above him which he took and let himself get hoisted to his feet. As soon as he was stable he felt two hands go to his face.

"That's going to bruise."

Lex shrugged.

"Eh. I fell down the stairs this morning."

He saw Richard smile as he stepped back and threw him some water.

"You think anyone will accept that?"

Lex took a sip from the bottle.

"They'll have to. Cause I'm not making any other excuses." He tapped the sore spot on his face "Oww my face. Did you have to hit my face?!"

"Did you have to start with a flying kick? My arms are still numb from the force behind it."

He laughed as he walked over to the small fridge tucked into one of the corners. He reached in a pulled out an ice pack that he put on his face. He hissed at the burning sensation before turning to Richard.

"So what exactly was the point of that?"

Richard shrugged.

"Wanted to see if you were any good..."

Lex waited for him to go on but he remained silent.

"Annnd?"

"You're okay I guess. Good enough stance that I'm guessing prioritizes rapid reaction over stability. Fast strikes that emphasize retaining momentum and you follow up a missed strike with an attack most opponents wouldn't expect. Your attacks are too flashy though. "

"Flashy is good. More points during competitions "

"In a fight though it's bad to be flashy. You attract unwanted attention and you specifically telegraph your moves. It was easy to see where you'd attack."

Lex nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind. "

"That's good. Who knows. We might spar again."

Lex winced at the idea.

* * *

He winced as he sat on the table. His cheek refused to settle down and so whenever he moved his mouth a burning sensation seared his face. That contributed to the slightly annoyed expression he'd adopted so far. Nano's silent snickering wasn't helping and neither was the occasional glance from one of the three girls sitting across from him. A myriad of colour had washed over his vision when they'd entered.

One was in a purple dress cut low enough to preserve her modesty but still appeal to the whole 'give them a peek' ideology that Nano seemed to adore while another of the girls wore a skirt so bright he swore the sun had invaded his eyesight. A bright yellow that blended well with the black blazer covering her top half. The third had a dress on as well. One that was a tone of green that reminded him of a led light. He hadn't looked at the cut. Instead her blond hair had caught his attention. Tied into a pair of twin tails that went down to the centre of her back and swayed as she walked. He leaned back in his chair as he felt the ice around the group thicken and with a quiet sigh he started talking.

"Why don't we break whatever tension we have ey? I'm Lex."

He tapped Nano's foot with his own.

"Nano over here."

Richard took the natural cue.

"Richard."

The girls smiled with a sync that scared him before purple relaxed.

"Well I'm Tess. "

She nodded over to the black blazer clad girl.

"Sera."

He noted how she was glaring straight at him like she was trying to kill him with her eyes.

He shivered slightly before something brushed past his leg. His brain stopped before the leg pulled back and he traced it to the girl in the green dress. A smirk bordering on sultry covering her face for a second before it morphed into a smile. Tess looked in her direction and her smile grew.

"I'm Annabelle. Pleasure to meet you fine gentlemen."

Her leg brushed up against his again and he felt his cheeks light up for a second. He reset his calm with a quick blink and reached for his drink. A bubbling concoction of two different soft drinks that gave a sour yet strong taste that numbed his tongue and hurt his teeth. He heard Richard start talking while he enjoyed his drink and tried to ignore Annabelle's leg that was slowly climbing higher on his own.

"Any questions? You three did call us out here for a reason I take it?"

Tess smiled as she relaxed on her chair.

"We did didn't we? You're tank seems pretty interesting. I can't say we've ever seen anything like it."

Richard shrugged as Lex took a small sip of his drink.

"It's not that special. A simple light tank with no armour. Only defense we gave is our speed."

Nano interrupted

"And our gun"

"That too. Though that's only as good as it's gunner."

"I nailed a Luchs from over a kilometre. It say that's pretty good "

"Meh it's okay. I've seen better. "

"From who?"

The girls seemed to lean in slightly.

"Hana. She actually hit me."

Nano stopped what he was going to say and Lex could see the gears in his head turning.

"...damn it."

"Cheer up. I'm sure you'll hit me in... About four weeks at this rate."

A competitive glare encompassed Nano's face and Lex shook his head as he finished his drink and glanced at his watch.

"Next question girls. We're on a schedule tonight so sorry to rush."

Annabelle seemed to smile at him and he felt a shiver travel down his spine.

"It's no problem. How about yourselves? You don't seem too downbeat for men in a field mainly for girls."

As Lex had expected, Nano took the initiative and so he quietly tapped his fingers against his thigh as he felt Annabelle's foot crest his knee.

"Of course we're not. Who do you take us for? I personally am loving being surrounded by as many girls as I am."

Richard took his own swipe at Nano.

"The exact number hovers around zero."

"Mate. I hang out with more girls then you "

"Yeah. But I have the number of every girl on our team. Do you?"

A small silence worked it's way way across the table as Nano received everyone's attention.

"... Damn it... Fine you win this one."

"I shall take your cheesecake as my reward."

Nano begrudgingly passed his frosted delicacy to Richard while Lex rolled his eyes. His irritation grew as Annabelle rested her foot on his knee and when he noticed that it was reaching his thigh he made his move. He grabbed her foot and earned a teasing smirk. He slowly moved his hand down and found a very specific spot. He then jammed his thumb into the sensitive area. Her foot recoiled and he released his hand when her knee bumped into the top of the table.

"Hey Lex say something. You haven't said anything yet."

He looked over at Nano and sighed.

"Fine fine. What's the question?"

Sera spoke up as she moved some of her hair after stretching.

"Interesting story about yourself."

Lex nodded.

"Hmm..." He saw his vision flicker and he shook his head as he held back the memory. "I've been slapped by a total of twenty people over my lifetime."

He could hear Nano choking on his drink as he started laughing.

"What? Why?"

Lex rolled his eyes.

"Apparently my phrasing when I talk to women occasionally gets... Suggestive. Like extremely suggestive... Mainly when I enter my extremely calm state of mind."

Nano started laughing harder while Lex felt the heat center on his cheeks... He couldn't tell if it was due to him being embarrassed or angry. He opted to go with the second alternative and lightly punched Nano in the shoulder. It had the opposite effect and made him laugh more as Lex kept shaking his head. Eventually Nano calmed down and Lex appealed to his inner calm which responded by cooling down his cheeks. He coughed lightly and looked over at Richard.

"No comment."

He blinked.

"Really?"

"You can press the issue but we'll be sparing again as payment."

Lex though it over.

"I'm against pain that I can avoid so I think we can leave that question there."

He felt his phone start vibrating in his pocket and he closed his eyes for a moment.

"Times up guys. We've got to go or else we'll miss our ride."

Richard nodded while Nano stared at him.

"I'm gonna guess you're trying to do that puppy dog eye thing that a few of the girls do so for your own self esteem I'm gonna say this." He opened his eyes and stared straight at Nano. "It doesn't work. Never has. Never will."

He saw the look from Nano that basically expressed the sheer pain in his heart at having a rather well made technique completely rejected and laughed somewhat. He saw Richard moving to stand up and followed suit he saw one of the waiters walking over and Richard offered to pay which earned an incredulous look from Nano while Lex only shrugged.

Once they were out the door the cold air hit him. He felt a portion of fatigue melt away and he closed his eyes as he navigated the streets on pure muscle memory. His mind whirred as he tapped his thigh in thought.

 _Next opponent... Saunders. The Americans. Main tank will probably be some Shermans... Maybe a Firefly... isnt that British? No wait. American sherman with a british gun... Wonder if Gloria has any... Bah focus! They'd probably want the bigger gun. Nano can nail the Shermans from range so the question is what else they'll bring... A jumbo would augment their armour but something lighter would give them more adaptability... would they have priest i wonder... If they do then that becomes a problem._

His mind stopped for a moment when he thought he heard something behind him. He glanced to the side and looked out of the corner of his eyes. Nothing appeared and his quick analysis likened the noise to a cat or animal in general. He referenced his mental map and took a shortcut back to his apartment. No other noises invaded the calm night and he let out a breath as he sat down in the larger section of his apartment. The springy recliner in the corner offered enough resistance for him to sit in as he thought again.

 _Main target... It'll probably be the Stugg if it's an elimination match... Probably. It has the biggest gun in our rag tag group... Need to make a note to get Nano teaching those girls how to shoot from range... Secondary target will probably be Miho... Yeah she's the commander so if she gets taken down we'll be without a leader... Maybe we should ditch the lone-wolf strat for this battle... run as escort detail or high speed support... Need to get that private comm channel set up..._

He tapped away on his phone as he mentally began working on battle plans. An idea settled in his head and he scrambled around in search of a large enough piece of paper. He eventually gave up on a physical drawing and op-ed that he'd remember it tomorrow. A wave of fatigue hit him and he felt his balance wane for a second as his leg wobbled as a burst of pain ran through his thigh.

 _At my limit for today huh... Right sleep first. Plan later._

With that thought he let himself hit the bed.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days had passed since the dinner fiasco and in those few days the post loss gloom that had settled over the tankers seemed to have vanished as well. From his little investigation he'd found that the kids driving the Lee seemed the most down though he expected something like that to happen. They were the youngest in the group after all.

What he hadn't expected was the offer Nano had given them.

Well Lex considered it an offer but it seemed more like a challenge now that he thought about it. In his opinion it seemed a little too simple. Hit a moving target with both guns. The catch though was that they had be moving in a zig zag pattern for the shots to be valid.

He had a hunch that this had some deeper meaning but no matter how many times he stared at the recording he couldn't figure it out. The reward seemed to motivate them to heights beyond his comprehension. They failed at least eight times but on the last try they managed it. Both guns opened up with a pair of shots in dramatically terrifying sync. The 35mm hit the weaving Stugg and demolished its track followed by the larger 75mm hitting the hull and leaving a nasty looking dent.

He saw the hatch open as he took a bite from the piece of candy in front of him. The entire crew of the Lee leapt out and instead of the downcast expressions they'd been wearing a day before they seemed to be beaming. That had led him to his situation now as he waited by the gate for Nano. The orange haired teen walked up and Lex laughed at the expression on his face. Two conflicting emotions battled against him. On one hand he'd taught the girls a lesson on accuracy while moving but on the other hand Lex guessed that his wallet was drained.

"Hey Lex...?"

"No you can't have some money."

"Dude come on! I made girls happy. I deserve compensation don't you think?"

"Their happiness should be enough. Besides. If you're helping them for a reward you'll only find more trouble for yourself."

"... Was that a threat?"

"Warning. Not a threat."

"Geez, What's got you so riled up? One of the girls walk in on you while you meditated?"

Lex rose an eyebrow at Nano while he shook his head.

"I. Have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"How many complaints about your behavior have I gotten over the span of the last two days?"

"…. Two?"

"Yeah. Two in two days. I thought I said to drop the ratio. Not increase it."

"You seem annoyed."

"Really? What gave that away?"

"Wow you're actually being sarcastic... Hey you wanna know something interesting?"

He sighed at the obvious dodge.

"Not really no. But I suspect you'll tell me anyway."

"Huh? Nah if you don't want to know its fine."

Lex nodded as he walked into the school. He could feel his curiosity gnawing away at his self control and Nano's small smug grin wasn't helping him in the least. He managed to control it until they got to the hanger where the _Cat_ was sitting.

"Gah. Fine tell me."

"Did you know that the girls have a fucking _hot spring bath thing_?!"

Lex shrugged.

"Yeah. Didn't you?"

"Why didn't you tell me!?"

Lex narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not going to get a complaint for inappropriate conduct anytime soon am I? Because, if I do I'm forwarding it to Sarah."

"I don't have anything to fear even if you do. She's half the globe away."

Lex rolled his eyes.

"Nano. Humor me for a moment. Imagine this. A watermelon on a bench. You see it right? Big and green."

"Okay… So what?"

"Now this is what happens when Sarah finds out about your infraction. Squish!"

He brought his arm down on the conveniently positioned table to emphasise his point. Nano started laughing.

"… was that supposed to be my head? Man you're so damn funny sometimes you know that. Jester of the year here."

Lex sighed as he looked over at the _Cat_. He then noticed the weirdest thing he'd seen so far… The tank had tilted.

From his view it had moved about ten degrees down so that the front was closer to the ground then the back and as he watched he saw a stream of smoke appear from both sides of the tank. It quickly went back to its original orientation and he jumped when Richard appeared from the drivers hatch with a clipboard in hand.

"Oh you two are here. Good timing."

Nano seemed to break away from his laughing fit as he gawked at the tank.

"Dude. What the hell did you do to her!?"

"You shout a _lot._ Shut up."

Richard moved some of the hair around his fringe back.

"What I did was replace our suspension with a special set of hydraulics. You should be happy. You can now aim higher or lower by about eight or nine degrees."

"... Wait… Can we now ramp tanks over us by ramming?"

The excited glint in Nano's eyes scared Lex. Though the elevation gave him a few options for his plans, the glint vanished when Richard shook his head. The calm action completely failing to match the words that came out of his mouth.

"Hell no! Firstly our original suspension was stronger than this. So if we couldn't do that with the old set, there's no way we can do it with this set. Besides, we installed the suspension as a test. I'm taking it off so we can test it more. Its barely holding up to the tanks minuscule weight without you firing off its gun. So no we won't be 'ramping' any tanks for the foreseeable future."

Nano blinked before his entire body slumped. Lex nodded as he looked at the tank. No tilting was disappointing but he had a hunch the rules wouldn't exactly allow that… He made a note to go look at the rule book some time later.

"How about the smoke dispensers?"

Richard tapped the small indents in the turret.

"Two charges up here and another two on the sides of our hull. The cloud will last for three or four minutes when we have a small gust present. Time decreases as wind increases"

"Well… You've been busy."

Richard shrugged.

"One of us has to be. I mean look at Nano over there. He's too busy ogling girls to be training his precision."

"My shootings perfect ass hole."

"That's debatable. You still haven't hit me."

Lex could hear the quiet mumbling from Nano and he looked back at the tank. It's color scheme had changed again. Now being clad in green and brown robes that Lex assumed was to help it in the upcoming battle against Saunders.

The discussion about tanking eventually stopped and Lex found himself back in his apartment as he sat down on the floor. A rather comfortable rug under him as he crossed his legs and worked himself into a trance. It was something he'd found himself doing after the dinner invite. He'd remembered something the man who'd taught him told him how defend himself had said.

 _A clear mind beats a large fist. Keep your thoughts collected and you'll survive just fine._

He laughed as he recalled his wonderful experience at gunpoint. He lost his smile when he found himself back at the post office. A glint of silver caught his sight and as he turned around the crackle of lightning made him wince. His vision went white in pain and before he knew it the woman was back with her gun in hand. Sunlight streamed through the window and it gave her an almost heavenly backdrop. The red of her coat made him shiver and the gun came up again. He clutched his leg before the shattering of glass brought him back.

"Lex!"

He blinked when he saw a pair of light brown eyes looking at him with a rather worried expression. Ginger hair flowed down her back and the school uniform she wore eased his sense of reality back into focus

Now that he was back he found that he had two options.

He could scramble backwards in faux surprise while stuttering madly.

He could appeal to his inner calm and let that come up with a way to resolve the situation in front of him. But then have to deal with the repercussions.

He looked straight at her.

"Has anyone ever said that your eyes are absolutely _gorgeous_?"

He saw her cheeks light up as she quickly stepped back.

"Wa- what are you saying?"

He shook his head.

"Minus one point. Come on Saori. You'll never get a guy with that reaction." He tilted his head to the side. "Well actually you might if your cute factor goes up… hmm you're cute enough for now so that might net you a point."

He figured out that he'd started rambling when her face got redder and so he shut himself up and let her talk.

"Are… Are you okay?"

He shrugged.

"Eh about the same as always. Overthinking battle plans and suffering my usual delusional fantasies."

"You… Seemed like there was something worse going on.. You broke out into a cold sweat. And you were shivering."

He felt the quiet snap as she attempted to break his mental barrier. He could also feel his irritation growing as time went on.

"Aren't you supposed to be the upbeat one whose sensitive to emotional shifts? Besides, I was thinking about a girl."

Which wasn't exactly untrue.

"Eh. Then the cold sweat and shivering…"

He looked at her with a blank look.

"I was shivering in ecstasy. It was a wonderful nightmare and now you've ruined it."

She shivered and took a few more steps back making him shake his head more.

"Once again. Minus one point. Some men prefer a more aggressive approach. Teasing even. Though, the cute factor does kinda cancel out your back step."

Her flustered expression disappeared and he guessed that she'd broken through his teasing induced lockup. She smiled lightly and she nodded.

"Right. So I have to be more aggressive and assertive when I confront a boy. I'll take the advice."

"Good. Now can you get out of my room. I'm about to get changed."

"Right."

He waited for the inevitable 'aha' that was coming when she remembered her purpose for entering his apartment… he thought he'd locked the door… weird.

"Oh right "

There it was.

"Miho sent me."

"You're her runner?"

"Well… she doesn't have your number and so she told me to ask if you're free tomorrow."

"... So is this a date or something?"

Her eyes widened and Lex laughed quietly.

"No. It's a strategy talk. Apparently Yukari has a plan. But she didn't tell us what it was. She told us to meet her at her house after school and Miho wanted to know if you were coming to talk whatever you people higher up talk about. "

"Huh. Well I guess I'll see what I can do…"

He quickly reached to the side and tore a piece of paper from the roll he'd bought and stashed near where he sat. He reached into the pocket of his jumper and pulled out a pen before scribbling down his number.

"Here you go. In case you need to talk to me. Now you don't have to barge into my apartment whenever you need something."

"... I can have this too right?"

He shrugged.

"If you want to."

"Score."

He rose an eyebrow as her cheeks became tinted but he shook his head.

"Well off you go. I'm sure our esteemed leader is feverishly waiting for your return."

"... Yeah. Maybe she is. Well I'll go then…"

The awkward silence that persisted confused Lex as he waited for her to leave but instead all he received was an impatient looking glare.

"Umm…. Are you going to go now or...?"

"You lost a point now"

"Because…?"

"It's a gentlemen's responsibility to get the door for a lady."

"... Do I look like a gentleman to you?"

"...maybe roguish charm suits you?"

"I have no idea. I also have no intention of getting the door for you. So now that your business is finished with me. Please leave. As I said before I'm going to get changed."

He put emphasis on the request by unzipping his jumper.

"Okay fine... See you tomorrow."

He waited until the door clicked and gave it another five seconds before stripping off his jumper and shirt. He then went back his spot on the floor and resumed his meditation.

It took half an hour for him to reach his first roadblock… he had absolutely no idea where Yukari's house actually was. He thought for a while longer on how to resolve the dilemma and eventually sent a message to Nano. Who surprisingly sent him an address. One that after a quick search ended up leading to a hairdressers. He felt like it was a prank but he didn't have the energy to bother double checking. So he relegated himself to standing up and practicing some of the Forms he'd been neglecting. From his calendar he spotted the red mark detailing the start of the tournaments and even if he wasn't going to participate he knew it was good for his leg. The small point of pain in the center of his thigh flared up whenever he put too much force into a kick and that in itself acted as a bar to measure himself. He started to wish he had more space here but with the limited amount he had he made do.

* * *

The hairdressing place he'd arrived at was small. Two stories tall but still small. He knocked on the door and noticed the man who greeted him. A small conversation went on in between the two of them and Lex got the feeling he wasn't exactly welcome here… He probably shouldn't have mentioned Yukari was the feeling he got. Eventually he gave up when the conversation reached its peak. Well the tension in the conversation did and so he rolled his eyes as he apologized and walked off. When he heard the door click closed he worked his way to the back of the store. Maybe it was his lucky day because he found a rather tightly packed alley. He glanced around and when he found what he wanted he started running. He leapt onto the dumpster and used the scarily springy top to grab hold of the fire escape near it. After carefully managing to lift himself onto it he looked around for an open window. He found one and also saw the three girls looking at him with various looks of confusion. He waved and motioned for them to step back a bit. They did and he took another running start before jumping. He barely made the distance and after grabbing the window sill he managed to enter the room. Once he was inside he waved.

"So… How's everyone doing?"

He heard Miho laugh at the question while the others gave their own little replies. Sadly his attempt at diverting everyone away from his stunt failed miserably when Saori spoke up.

"What was that about?"

It was his turn to laugh though he added a slightly bitter undertone.

"Her father refused to and i quote here. ' Allow a man who he has never heard of yet says that he works with his daughter into her room'"

She giggled quietly as did the other girls. Hana made a connection he was hoping she wouldn't.

"So you snuck in? How romantic."

"I did not sneak in... I entered through an alternate entrance without alerting the people outside "

Miho seemed to tilt her head slightly

"Isn't that what sneaking in is?"

"No. Shush."

The sound someone moving outside made his hearing perk up and he glanced outside. He blinked when he saw Yukari outside. She pulled off exactly what he had done and he moved back as she leapt like he had. The only difference being that she somehow made it through the open window and landed on her feet… He was slightly jealous… Only slightly.

"So is that how everyone enters your room or is this a once off thing?"

She turned around.

"Oh Hi Lex. Didn't know you were going to be here."

"Uh Hi."

She then proceeded to completely ignore him as she got absorbed in a conversation with the girls. He felt his eyebrow twitch but he let it go with a small shake of his head. He tapped his earpiece and waited for it to connect, Once it did he whispered into it.

" I'm putting this thing on speaker so stay quiet. It'll let you two listen in on what's happening and find a way to improve our plan."

He heard a small pair of beeps which matched the agreed noise for confirmation and so he calmly crossed his arms as he waited. He then noticed the strange clothing Yukari had. Mainly the striking red contrast it had with the usual white school uniform. He pointed that out.

"Oh this? I had to sneak onto a delivery ship."

"... Why did you have to do that?"

"It's on the video. Come on sit down. I'll get snacks."

His eyes widened as he lunged to stop her but his vision flickered over to the door. The clicking made his body move in a different direction and he vanished under the bed as the door opened.

"Yukari? You're home."

"Hey mum. Yeah I am…"

The awkward silence that followed made him roll his eyes

"I see… well… do you and your friends want anything to eat?"

"... do we have something sweet?"

"hmm…. I think we've got some biscuits. I'll grab them for you."

"Thanks mum!"

He strained his ears and heard the sound of footsteps as he guessed her mother walked down and grabbed the food.

She came up shortly after and handed off the goods before leaving. He gave it a few more seconds and only when he was sure that she wasn't coming back did he move from his hiding place. He saw Hana smile at him and he shook his head.

"Don't go saying anything."

"The secret boyfriend hides as the parents approach. He hides as they get closer and closer."

He shook his head again and adjusted his earpiece before taking his place back on the wall. Yukari moved to put something into a small disc player and he saw the tv boot up as he moved his body to a slightly more comfortable orientation.

"Welcome everyone. To the secret mission. My mission is… infiltrate Saunders and discover their tanks."

He felt a smile on the edge of his lips as he saw the old school spy theme that the video took. He moved his eyes away from the picture when she started getting changed and he flicked his gaze back when the image changed to a large school ship. It was about as big as he expected and looked pretty modern too. The image cut to a small collage of her exploring the ship and he whistled when he saw the hangar filled with tanks. Most of which seemed like different variations of Sherman's though he spotted a Hellcat and T29 hidden in the back as well. The picture changed again to a large gymnasium that reminded him of his old school and he chuckled quietly at the parallels he drew as he listened. A large map of the battlefield was on top of a stage and he narrowed his eyes when he referenced it with the map they'd been given. This one seemed more detailed. A colour recreation of the battlefield with more points marked out that probably suited them for combat. He nodded with what he saw. Most of the spots were on the edges of hills and that supported the hull down tactics he had expected. Yukari put her hand up and he listened intently.

"What tanks will we be using during our match?"

The blond leader of the assembled group gave out a laugh that sounded way too excited for his liking before she answered.

" We'll crush them with numbers. Seven regular Sherman's and a Firefly will make up our main force. Four Jumbo's are also going to protect our flanks. We also have some help from some friends of ours so we'll have access to-"

The leader was interrupted and Lex grit his teeth as he glared.

 _More tanks then I counted for… needs a different approach… lone wolf actually might work… need someone shadowing us though… 38t will have to do… it's the only one fast enough to keep up._

He came out of his thoughts and saw the credits rolling as he turned to the girls. Miho had a strangely determined look on her face. 'This is going to be hard… but we can do it. "

The other girls nodded while Lex shrugged.

"Sure we can. The _cat_ is fast enough to hit that central hill first so we'll do that… that'll give us a good spot to recon from so we can spot anything heading towards you."

He saw her cock her head to the side.

"Won't they be expecting that?"

"Probably. But we can make due. Plus our tank is American by nature… I'm sure they won't notice a small tank moseying by their horde of mediums. Thoughts?"

He saw her shake her head.

"Too risky. We need every tank we can if we want to win this. How about we take the forest? It's got good cover for you and we can hide our tanks as well."

He thought about it and nodded.

"I suppose. Though we might want to keep our flag tank separate if it's a flag match."

Hana spoke up.

"It is from what I heard."

He nodded in thanks and could _feel_ Miho weighing her options.

"If the _cat_ recons from the low ground we could have the president sit with you. You're both fast enough to run away if you're spotted… We need to deal with the firefly, it's going to be a problem otherwise."

"Find it first. Then Nano can knock it out. "

She nodded and he put his head against the wall in thought.

 _More Sherman's means more firepower… the Panzer needs more firepower… note. Give Sarah a call._

He blinked a couple of times and felt his thigh start throbbing. He glanced over at the door on instinct and the clicking of the handle made him frown as he shuffled over to the window. He sent a small wave and navigated down the two floors worth of space onto the ground. He shuffled out of the alley and took a stroll across the street as he felt his earpiece buzz. He tapped it and in one smooth motion also turned off the speaker.

"Go."

He heard Nano sigh from where ever he was.

"Find it first. Then Nano can knock it out. Really? Don't you think you're putting a little too much faith in my shots?"

He shrugged unconsciously.

"When was the last time you missed something as large as a Firefly?"

"...Still… I wouldn't trust my skills wholeheartedly. Murphy won't be very happy."

"Murphy's never happy." was Richard's comment as he joined the conversation.

Lex sighed as he looked up.

"We're already at a large enough disadvantage… i don't know how long our luck will hold out at this rate."

He heard Nano grunt as he hid a laugh.

"Getting cold feet already? Mate. At least step into the deep end before running off."

"...I don't know how to react to that… but… look at me. I have like no experience as a leader. Yet you and Rich along with the entire damn school trust me to win this… call it having valid doubts about my ability as a leader. "

He could hear the nonchalant shrug in Nano's voice.

"You're doing fine so far. Besides. We're here to share the load if you need it. Right Rich?"

"If you want some help then ask. Just don't keep secrets and i will help. If you do keep secrets then I won't be inclined to help in any shape."

Lex rolled his eyes but smiled slightly.

"Adding a threat to a pledge to help doesn't really make it any better. But I'm not the only one with secrets. All of us have our own… but I guess I'll be counting on you guys a little more now so be ready for that."

He shook his head as he paused. "Right back on topic. Let's get us an alternate plan."

* * *

 ** _I'm back folks. How's it been? Good day?_**

 ** _It took a while... way too long but here's the new chapter._**

 ** _I m might start scheduling these. Probably give me a little bit of structure._**

 ** _The beta schedule (May change ) will probs be_**

 ** _1 chapter of this_**

 ** _2 chapters of RRR_**

 ** _1 chapter of HR._**

 ** _Thoughts?_**


	6. Chapter 6

He glared at the black body suit in front of him. It was sleek with hints of blue around the shoulders and kneepads. Four blue lines and a star stood proudly on one of the shoulders. His name was written onto the front in small letters where his breast pocket would normally be. His glare moved from the suit over to the tv and it's grinning screen.

"I hate you so much right now."

The cheery voice that spoke from it was so full of energy that he felt all of his drain away.

"But it looks so good on you!"

"You haven't even seen it on me yet!"

"A girl can dream can't she?"

"Not when it comes to my body in that!" he pointed his finger towards the stiff suit. "Where the hell did you even get reinforced kevlar!?"

She pouted. Her ruby red eyes seemed to light up and he could feel a sigh bubbling up his throat.

"Its not reinforced kevlar. It's carbon nanotubes layered over a web of strengthened polymer."

He lost the sigh and instead stared at her with an incredulous expression.

"How on earth did you get carbon nanotubes?"

A teasing smirk replaces her pout as her eyes flickered to the side.

"A girl doesn't kiss and tell."

He felt his shoulders lose their tense feeling.

"Kat… I love you and all but… sometimes I wish you'd stop with all the flashy presents."

"hmm….nah. That would make it impossible to see you so flustered."

"I am not flustered!"

She giggled and he rolled his eyes as he leaned against one of the walls.

"Think of it as a good luck charm. For your match."

He rose an eyebrow as he shook his head.

"Oh yes because luck has been so useful throughout my life." He pointed at his leg. "relying on luck got me a bullet through here." He pointed at his head. "it got me a sister who ran away." He then pointed at his heart. "and it made me into some bumbling idiot who can barely breathe when he sees those fancy rich ass red coats. Trust me. I've seen how much luck helps me."

She looked at him for a moment and then gave a grim smile.

"It gave me to you."

He laughed bitterly and looked up at her.

"That's one of the only things I'm grateful for. My offers still open?"

"Nope."

He laughed and felt a little of the light return to his vision as the dark edges disappeared.

"Never could get you to anything more then a friend."

"I think your mother's words were… if I ever see you kissing him again I will cut out your tongue."

He shrugged as he smiled.

"Mums protective."

"True enough."

An awkward silence echoed across the room and Lex stared at the suit. He saw it in a slightly better light. He heard her hum and he turned back to look at her.

"Well I've got to go. Sadly for me Sara's calling and you know how she is when I'm late. Well… see you at the match."

"Yeah see ya."

The screen shut off and he sighed as he enjoyed the warm afterglow that accompanied talking to her. His body froze once it came to the words she'd parted on.

 _Oh god no. She's coming to watch!_

* * *

He leaned against the tank as he listened to the plan.

Once again it seemed like an ambush of sorts. Though his mind was preoccupied as he stared straight ahead.

 _She's watching. She's watching. Fuck me she's watching._

A tap on his shoulder made him jolt and his head snapped in the direction with an audible crack as his neck popped.

"You alright there chief? You've been standing there for a while."

He stared at Nano and with a quick glance around he motioned to the tank. The orange haired gunner shrugged and hopped in and he followed a few seconds after.

"Nerves getting to you?"

Rich's voice echoed inside the closed metal shell and he smiled meekly as he let all his tension show.

"There's a rather important person watching this fight today… you could say I'm a little stiff because of that."

Nanos usually chipper tone oozed through the tank

"How important are we talking here? Like government important or more like that one girl you've been chasing all your life important?"

He scratched the back of his head.

"The second one."

A punch to his shoulder made him stare at Nano who rolled his eyes and gave an exaggerated sigh.

"You say this person is that important to you yeah?"

He nodded.

"Then why the hell are you getting nervous? You my brown hair friend are supposed to be the rock of this little crew. Besides it's a girl. How bad can it be?"

"It's Sara's daughter."

The wide eyed expression of shock on Nanos face would've made Lex start laughing in any other situation.

"...Okay...okay…. I can work with this… two questions. One. How the fuck did you start chasing after the daughter of our _boss?_ And two. Why the fuck did you start chasing after the daughter of our _boss?_ "

He laughed quietly as a little of his tension evaporated.

"She was there for me when no one else was."

He heard Rich whistle.

"Battle scars huh? Impressive."

"How did you-?"

Richard laughed as he rolled his eyes.

"We've all fought our own battles. Some of us have come out with a scratch. Others with a nasty scar. Just focus on the road ahead and do what you always do."

"Not exactly easy when she's here in person."

Richard shrugged as he turned back to the tank control and started meddling with a few controls.

"Maybe. But here's the thing. You lead. We follow. All you have to do is do what you've been doing these past weeks. We'll do our job so don't bother about the small things. We lose a track. Then we'll put one on."

Nano nodded and Lex turned his attention to him.

"We lose a target. We'll track it to the ends of the earth."

He could feel his own moment coming and he grinned lightly.

"We destroy a tank. We'll roll together."

He felt Nano slap him on the back as he laughed.

"See? How hard was spilling out your guts huh? Feels good right."

Lex let out a sigh and glanced up slightly.

"I hate you so much… but it does feel a little better."

Nano let out a hum and Lex saw him turn back to his sights as he focused on them.

He saw the two of them working and so with a light pinch on his wrist he pulled a map from the side of the tank and went to work marking off locations that were good for scouting once again.

* * *

 _So much for showing off._

He spread his body across the thick tree branch as he spotted ahead with his spyglass. The _cat_ was hidden a few meters away in some brush and he'd walked to the edge of the forest before climbing one of the taller trees and using it as some cover to scout out the hill covered plains ahead.

 _This match was doomed from the start._

The voices in the back of his head whispered variations of the phrase and he was starting to agree. A few minutes into the match… maybe a half hour at best… the Lee had been taken down from some serious range. A sniper was his best guess.

The _cat_ has stopped next to it about an hour later and once they were hidden Lex had gotten out and surveyed the damage quickly.

A single shot.

Around 90mm.

It was an impressive shot but he supposed the most impressive thing was where the shot would have been taken from. The forest around the Lee was sparse. Trees were spread out and bushes were small. It would have been hard for something with a large gun to have sneaked up on the Lee with the lack of cover. He'd asked Nano once they were moving again and his reply had suggested somewhere deep in the forest after taking the angle of impact into consideration.

A shiver ran down his back at the thought.

A 90mm gun would tear through the _cat_ as if it hadn't even existed in the first place.

He redoubled his efforts and noticed the lack of dust… it was odd. The tanks should have been moving through the forest and plains by now. Yet there wasn't any visible dust.

He was high so he should have been able to see even the smallest amount across the plain. It was central too yet there wasn't a sign of movement…

His eyes narrowed and he got into the tank while tapping his radio. He nodded to Rich and he started moving as his long range connected.

"Panzer. It's Cat."

"Go ahead Cat."

"I got nothing over here. Literally nothing. We're moving to point d2 now…"

"Right. Stay safe... this match isn't going well."

He let out a hum of agreement and closed the connection as his mind worked. The map in his hands shook as the tank rolled across the ground at a safe and quiet pace and his felt his thigh throbbing. His eyes shot up at the feeling and he got Rich to find somewhere to hide them.

The tank shifted and it found some thick bushes that it melted into. Ten minutes passed and his thigh kept throbbing. He quickly got out of the tank after warning Nano to keep an eye on things.

He moved to a bush a few hundred meters away and got comfortable while switching his earpiece to its private channel. A duo of confirmation beeps met him and he heard Richard's voice over the channel as his uncapped his spyglass.

"What's wrong?"

"...I don't know… it's a feeling. One that screams danger if we go any further."

Nanos voice roared in the speaker and Lex winced slighty.

"Contact. Two tanks… basic shermans. Moving… towards d3."

He looked over at the _cat_ and could feel Nanos eyes meeting his through the metal wall. He glanced through his spyglass and saw two plumes of brown dust flying through the forest at top speed and they roared through the forest.

"Nano?"

"I can hit one in the side. Has to be now though."

"Do it. Then run and hide. Meet and location two in half and hour."

The thunderous sound of the cannon firing was his reply and he could see the image in his head.

The shell accelerating out of the rifled barrel.

It soaring through the air at breakneck speed. Rotated rapidly as it did.

The Sabot part of the shell piercing the side of the unaware Sherman with ease and lighting what would have been the ammunition on fire. Though in this case the referee system would raise the flag as the other Sherman turned to address the threat.

He had started running as soon as the shell was shot and he moved as quickly and quietly as he could through the forest. It was surprisingly easy. The hard ground left little in terms of tracks for his boots and the bushes hid him as he moved.

He glanced at the folded map on his wrist and after a quick survey he kept running towards the third location they'd marked.

He came to a particularly thick set of bushes and stopped to catch his breath as he hid in them. He felt his eyes widen as he stared at what was in front of him.

A quintet of Sherman's. Two of which were jumbos were parked while the other three were regular Sherman's. He noted the position on the map and quietly switched his earpiece to long range.

"Nano. You there?"

"Still alive huh? Yeah we're hidden at location three."

"Ahead of schedule. It's been twenty minutes."

"Well Richard's taught me a little etiquette. Better to be early then late. Especially when you're impressing a lady."

"Noted. Well I've got five tanks over at E5. Two jumbos and a trio of Sherman's."

A few moments passed with no sound other then the wind between the leaves and the rumble of engines as Lex guess that Rich write down the locations.

He saw movement a minute after he said that. All the turrets turned around in random locations… like they were searching for something.

His eyes narrowed.

His mind whirled.

His phone beeped.

He looked at it and ignored it for a moment. It beeped again and he moved behind a tree before quickly glancing at the text message.

 _Radios are tapped. Anything sent over radio will be a distraction. Please issue statements and reports over messages._

He grinned mentally and quietly snuck away.

* * *

Once he'd climbed up over the edge he stared at the view for a moment.

Location three stood on top of one of the cliffs that overlooked part of battlefield. He'd noticed it after staring at the map and it's boundaries for about an hour. Technically it was impossible to reach without crossing the boundary and going up a winding path… for a medium or heavy tank at least.

The _cat_ was small enough to fit under a large overhang that had a hole carved into it. The hole lead through a small path that weaved across a small stream and on the other side was the top of the cliff. All of that was inside the boundary. So technically he wasn't breaking any rules.

He hopped onto one of the rocks and whistled. It was sharp and loud. The quiet rumble of an engine thundered to his left and he quickly stepped through the rocks and into the tank.

"Nice of you to join us."

He was greeted by Rich who was staring at a map with multiple red spots marked on it.

"Can't exactly leave you two alone now can I? You all got the message I take it?"

He got two nods and a sigh from Nano.

"To think they're all cheating. The girls as so damn good looking too!"

Rich shrugged.

"Best not to assume they're all cheating. Probably only one or two. I know Kay. She isn't like that."

Lex and Nano stared at Rich for a moment before voicing the same thing.

"Wait. You know the enemy commander?"

Nanos comment was tad cruder. Rich shrugged as he looked out the view port again.

"We're friends. She prefers fair play. She isn't one for sneaking around and using such tricks."

Lex nodded once and then opened the hatch.

"I'll take your word for it. Nano want me to spot?"

The gunner let out a hum and then nodded before placing his eye over the sight. Lex jumped out and sat on the hull as he sighted through his spyglass.

He stared at the naked plain in front of them. It stretched across the entire map with only hills for cover. He made sure his earpiece was on private and then let out a hum.

"Rich. What square is the plain?"

The reply was immediate.

"The sixes."

"Straight sixes?"

"Mostly. Around us it's the fives."

He felt a grin as he found a good spot."

He switched to long range and calmed the adrenaline.

"Panzer. This is Cat. We're on the move to E6. Think you can meet us there?"

"Why?"

"Just a little plan that we've got. It's got to be in person through."

"If that's what you want. We''ll be there."

He felt the turret shift and his phone beeped.

 _What are you doing?!_

He replied with a simple response.

 _Wait and see._

His smile grew as the five Sherman's from before drove across the field.

"Nano. Leading Jumbo. Range 1000 meters. Speed 25. Knock it out."

The gun thundered overhead and he was happy to have earplugs in as it did. He kept his spyglass on the jumbo and watched as the shell landed right where it's engine would be. The gun fired twice more in rapid succession and the two Sherman's behind it went to their graves as well.

He tapped his earpiece and smiled. A little bit of misdirection and gloating never hurt.

"Panzer. Three Sherman's down. It was perfect. They didn't even know we were behind them. Man these girls are stupid."

The last comment wasn't exactly necessary but boiling blood lead to sloppy choices. Something they needed right now.

The turrets of the remaining jumbo and Sherman rotated as they're hulls traversed and he heard the two shots that were fired blindly into the forest.

 _Panicked are we? Perfect._

"Nano?"

"3.2.1. Loaded."

All the while he'd kept his eye on his spy glass and with a quick calculation he pointed out the range.

Three shots and the two tanks fell as well.

He hopped into the tank and met Nanos fist with his own.

"Six tanks out of their fifteen. Well done."

"I feel accomplished enough for now. Man I'm tired."

"We got another nine tanks unaccounted for. So no rest yet. Rich let's go to point eight."

"Done."

The tank soared across the path as it return back the way it came. His thigh throbbed but he couldn't see anything that could hurt them. No tanks would be able to fit in the pass other then theirs or another small light tank… maybe a Stuart could if they had any...

A horrible grinding sound and a sudden lurching made time slow for him. The tank veered harshly to the side and before his mind processed the fact they were hit he felt gravity vanish. The feeling of weightlessness was odd but it lasted for only a few seconds. His head met the top half of the hatch as the tank hit the ground and he blacked out.

He came back to the world of the living in flashes.

The first only let him hear the groaning of metal and the other two with him.

The second let him see the crumpled turret and how close his head was to the roof.

 _The tank must have landed upside down… fuck._

He blacked out and awoke a third time. His vision blurry as a ring of red light appeared in the corner. The light moved. Forming a square that fell down to the ground outside and let some light in. He blacked out shortly after with a warm trickling sensation flowing down his arm.


End file.
